WHO promises new global focus on hep C diagnostics
This article was originally published in Clinica
Executive Summary
The World Health Organization (WHO) is to develop a "comprehensive approach to the prevention and control" of five types of viral hepatitis, promising an important focus on diagnostics. The plans were endorsed by the WHO's member states on 21 April, through a resolution that features a number of measures to improve healthcare and public awareness of the condition. Hepatitis A, B, C, D and E are thought to jointly account for over one million deaths per year, according to the WHO. "An estimated one in 12 people are infected with hepatitis C and have to face a life with liver disease if unrecognised," it said.